91��

The Mercy College men’s and women’s basketball teams were able to successfully play a shortened season over the winter thanks to a coordinated effort between the Health and Wellness Center, basketball coaches, athletic trainers and the student-athletes themselves.

Following the COVID-19 precautions laid out by Westchester County, New York State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the basketball teams wore masks on and off the court and adhered to social distancing at all times. Mercy’s Health and Wellness Center staff tested players for COVID-19 three times per week, according to NCAA guidelines.

“Coming back on campus, it was a big adjustment going back to practice with masks on and then building team chemistry as well,” said Garrett Kirkland ’23. “But it was good. We were a great team this year.” Kirkland recently won the East Coast Conference (ECC) Elite 19 Award for the men’s basketball player with the highest cumulative GPA in the ECC championships.

Though it was a shorter season than normal, the women’s team still played nine games and the men’s team seven games, including four home games each. The women’s team also played in the ECC tournament. Unfortunately, the men’s final tournament game was cancelled when the team had to quarantine because a player on an opposing team tested positive for COVID-19.

“It was our responsibility to find ways for student-athletes to play,” said Matt Kilcullen, Jr., Mercy’s Director of Athletics. “We've gotten great support from our administration. And for the most part, our plans worked. I think we’ve been successful because we take it day by day. We’re very mindful of what we can control and what we can’t. What we can control is the message, so coaches constantly reinforce the message that players must follow the precautions at all times.”

Mercy’s Athletics Department also started a Fans in the Stands initiative to boost morale for student-athletes. Faculty, staff, alumni, students, families and community members were invited to purchase life-size cardboard photograph cutouts of themselves or family members, and these were placed courtside. Kilcullen reports that there are now approximately 80 “fans in the stands,” which have been moved outside to support the teams playing outdoor sports this spring. “The Fans in the Stands initiative was a way of providing a better atmosphere and environment to compete in,” said Kilcullen. “Anything that you do to show that you care about your student-athletes has an impact.”

Basketball was the only sport played competitively at Mercy during the winter, but several other sports are starting up for the spring 2021 season: men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball and softball.

This is great news for student-athletes like Taysha Bender ’22 who relied on basketball season to bring a sense of normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was hard at first being on lockdown and not being able to do anything, like play basketball — something I love doing,” she said. “But once everything started to open back up, it was getting easier to find a new normal.”